Albury Market Update 1st Half of 2023
In Q4 2022, Albury recorded a median house price of $550,000, and a median land price of $225,000. This represents annual (Q4 2021 – Q4 2022) median price growth of 10.3% for houses and 25.7% for land. On a quarter-by-quarter basis (Q3 2022 – Q4 2022) median house price grew by 10.1% but median land price softened by -9.4%. This suggests interest rate hikes have impacted the land market. In Q4 2021 – Q4 2022 total sales decreased, by -46.9% (to 198 sales) for houses. The undersupply in ready-to-sell houses seems to have created a buffer in an increasing cash rate environment.
Average vendor discounts between Q4 2021 and Q4 2022 have swung to a discount of -2.5% for houses and widened to a higher discount of -4.4% for units. Market conditions in Albury have now shifted to favour buyers, as vendors are willing to accept below the initial listing price.
House rental yields in Albury was 4.4% in December 2022, significantly above Sydney Metro’s 2.7%. This was paired with a 5.9% increase in median house rental price between Q4 2021 – Q4 2022, and a slight 13.2% (to 300) number of houses rented. Meanwhile, average days on market remained stable at a low 19 days. The same pattern can be seen in the unit rental market, indicating an opportunistic and more affordable (compared to Sydney Metro) market for investors.
4+ bedroom houses have provided investors with +13.0% rental growth annually, achieving a median rent of $520 per week.
Albury recorded a vacancy rate of 1.3% in December 2022, which is below Sydney Metro’s 1.8% average. The spike in vacancy rates can be attributed to increasing interest rates and investors exiting the market due to financial viability, which is good news for renters. That said it is still below the Real Estate Institute of Australia’s healthy benchmark of 3.0% and pre-COVID-19 levels. Overall, this suggests a conducive and sustainable environment for investors.
